1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling and heating cup holder capable of storing a cup and performing cooling or heating by being mounted in a vehicle, or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
A vehicle, or the like, is provided with a cup holder. This cup holder generally has only a simple holding function. However, in some vehicles, a cup holder having a cooling or heating function has been introduced.
The cup holder according to the related art generally is in charge of cooling or heating simply using only heat conduction. However, sufficient cooling or heating may not be performed using only the heat conduction.
FIG. 1 shows a cooling and heating cup holder according to the related art. The cup holder according to the related art has used a Peltier element 20, but was in charge of cooling or heating of a cup stored therein only by thermoelectricity through conduction to a cup holder body 10.
However, in this technology, in the case in which a contact area between the cup and the cup holder is small, the cooling or heating function through the heat conduction is not appropriately performed. That is, sizes of the cup and the cup holder do not always coincide with each other, and the cup may have a dented lower surface. In the case of a cup made of paper having low thermal conductivity, there was a tendency that heat transfer according to conduction is not substantially generated, such that a temperature coincides with an ambient temperature.
Therefore, a cup holder capable of appropriately implementing a substantial cooling or heating function by solving these problems has been demanded.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,171 entitled “Device for Heating and Cooling Beverage” has also suggested a cup holder. However, also in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,171, the cooling or heating function of the cup holder was implemented only through conduction, such that substantial cooling or heating efficiency was significantly low.
The information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.